Vinnie Richards
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| Country (sports) |
 United States
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| Born |
March 20, 1903 New York, NY, United States |
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| Died | September 28, 1959 (aged 56) New York, NY, United States |
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| Turned pro | 1927 | ||||||||||||
| Retired | 1930 (very brief comeback in 1933 and 1945) | ||||||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) | ||||||||||||
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1959 (member page) | ||||||||||||
| Singles | |||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 2 (1924, A. Wallis Myers) | ||||||||||||
| Grand Slam Singles results | |||||||||||||
| French Open | SF (1926) | ||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | QF (1924) | ||||||||||||
| US Open | SF (1922, 1924, 1925, 1926) | ||||||||||||
| Professional majors | |||||||||||||
| US Pro | W (1927, 1928, 1930, 1933) | ||||||||||||
| Doubles | |||||||||||||
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |||||||||||||
| French Open | W (1926) | ||||||||||||
| Wimbledon |
W (1924) F (1926) |
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| US Open |
W (1918, 1921, 1922, 1925, 1926) F (1919) |
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| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |||||||||||||
| US Open |
W (1919, 1924) F (1925) |
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Medal record
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Vincent "Vinnie" Richards (March 20, 1903 – September 28, 1959) was an American tennis player.
Richards was active in the early decades of the 20th century, particularly known as being a superlative volleyer. He was ranked World No. 2 both as an amateur in 1924 by A. Wallis Myers, and as a pro by American Lawn Tennis magazine in 1930.
Born in Yonkers, New York, he attended the Jesuit Fordham Preparatory School, attended Fordham University and studied at the Columbia University School of Journalism in 1922.
Richards won the National Boys Outdoor Singles Tournament in 1917. He became a protégé of Bill Tilden after being defeated by the latter in a match, and he then teamed up with him to win the United States doubles championship in 1918 at the age of 15. He remains the youngest male to have ever won a major championship. Twenty-seven years later, in 1945, he and Tilden won the United States Pro doubles title. While Bill Tilden teamed with Richards to win titles together, he was also beaten by Richards in both singles and doubles, including for several major titles. During their long rivalry, they faced each other 102 times, with Richards holding a career record of 52–50 against Tilden.
Richards retained his amateur status for 10 years because his ambition was to compete in the 1924 Olympics held in Paris, France. He realized this ambition by winning the gold medal for the United States in both singles and doubles, additionally collecting the silver medal in mixed doubles. Richards is one of two American male tennis players to win the gold medal in both singles and doubles (Beals Wright was the other), and he ranks second all-time with his three medals won in 1924 (second to Reginald Doherty of Great Britain, who won four Olympic tennis medals). Between both men and women, Richards is tied with Venus Williams with three overall medals, with Williams collecting three gold medals over multiple Olympics. While there was no official ATP Tour in the 1920s, Richards was one of the pioneers in creating a version of a "world tennis tour", playing in the equivalent of all four grand slams during his career, additional major tournaments, and exhibition matches in front of emperors, presidents, and other heads of states. While Tilden may have overshadowed Richards, even in the Davis Cup, Richards held a perfect 5–0 record when he played for his country.
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